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The Song of the Levite |
The Story |
Our story begins to unfold four-hundred and thirty years prior to the time of the Exodus when Jacob (who was now referred to as Israel - Genesis 23:29 [32:28 JPS]) relocates his family to Egypt in order to escape a severe famine in his homeland. At the invitation of his son Joseph (a high ranking official in the Egyptian government at the time) and an unnamed Pharaoh, the elderly Israel packs up his belongings, his remaining family and permanently moves his household to the land of Egypt.
Israel = Jacob
The twelve families and sons of Israel
(prior to the Exodus)
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali,
Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, Benjamin
As the years progressed, the
rulers of Egypt changed and apparently so did the attitudes the
Egyptian government towards the now affluent and growing numbers
of Jacob's descendants, the Israelites. A group of people
that had once been considered an asset to the nation during the
time of Joseph, became looked upon with suspicion as a threat to
national security and were conscripted as laborers for the
massive building projects being untaken at the time by the
government (Exodus 1:7-10).
Toward the end of the four-hundred
and thirty years since Jacob first entered Egypt with his family,
the Biblical texts go on to say that God took note of the plight
of Israel there and raised up a seventy-nine year old man named
Moses from the family of Levi to lead the descendants of Jacob
out of Egypt. On the fourteen day of Abib (Nisan) after
midnight (Passover), Moses and the multitude went out from
Egypt. The Egyptians were so happy to see them go after all of
the plagues that had befallen them, that they gave the Israelites
whatever they asked (Exodus 12:35-36). Along the gold and silver
articles and clothing that were given them, the Israelites also
took from Egypt things of a far greater value. They left that
night with a wealth of technical knowledge and skills that had
been acquired during their sojourn there. The art of music may
have been one of these skills.
As they eventually reach the far
side of the sea of Reeds (trad. the Red Sea) after the
pursuing army of Pharaoh is drowned in the sea, we get our first
glimpse of Moses, the songwriter (Exodus 15:1-20). Now most
people do not associate Moses with the field of music, but he
evidently was well versed in this art.
We know
from the texts that Moses had been raised apart from the general
population of Israel in the house of Pharaoh during his youth and
had apparently not only learned to read and write, but also how
to read and write music. We also know that Moses was a
Levite. In this first song of Moses at the sea of Reeds we find a
simple statement that directly ties his understanding of music to
the musical system of Levites that would surface centuries later
during the time of David. This simple statement echoed in the
Psalm manuscripts and by the prophet Isaiah was not only
beautifully figurative; but in a very literal sense shows a
fundamental aspect employed within the musical system of the
Levites , Yah is my melody .
"Yah is my strength and my melody
..."
Exodus 15:2, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:1
Going back to our story, we find that three months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites finally arrive at the desert of Sinai and pitch camp before the mountain of God, the place where Moses sometime earlier had seen the burning bush and had been given the directives by Him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1, 19:1-2). Assembling at the base of the mountain, Moses is called up into the mountain into the presence of God. Remaining there for forty days, he eventually returns to the people with a set of codified rules we call the Ten Commandments and an extensive building project that would help mold and shape their spiritual lives and unite them as a nation. A project that would not only utilize the extensive resources they had acquired from the Egyptians, but also a plethora of highly skilled technical and administrative skills that were acquired by the people of Israel during their four-hundred and thirty year sojourn in the land of Egypt. This project would be the building of a semi-portable structure referred to as the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1- 40:48; Leviticus 1:1-27:34 and Numbers 1:1-10:36).
The Tabernacle
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"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you; the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall you make it." - Exodus 25:8-9 |
The Holy Compartment of the Tabernacle
When we look over the various
accounts relating to the building of the Tabernacle, we find that
the texts read more like a project plan than traditional
Scriptural material. Within the texts we find very detailed
information relating to administration functions, materials,
construction specifications, personnel, procedures, testing etc.
This was a massive undertaking by any standard.
The primary function of the
Tabernacle was to be the central repository for the chest of the
Testimony (the Ark of the Covenant). This chest, which
contained the two stone tablets given to Moses (the Ten
Commandments ), would also be the central physical location
from which God would communicate and direct the people of Israel.
The Tabernacle was also the location from which various sacred
rituals would be performed by a select group of individuals, the
priests. The Tabernacle system consisted of five primary
components:
The physical structure, referred to in Hebrew as the Dwelling, was constructed of forty-eight gold-plated, hollow vertical panels that could be erected and locked together with rods to form a three-walled, free-standing structure. The interior of this structure was sub-divided into two compartments by columns and fabric partitions. The smaller of the compartments, called the Most Holy, was the location where the chest of the Testimony was situated and was generally off-limits to everyone. The larger of the compartments, referred to as the Holy, was the location of the bread table (aka the table of the showbread), the altar of incense and the gold lamp-stand. Outside the Dwelling in the courtyard were the bronze washing basin and the bronze altar used for the sacrifices.
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The Bronze Altar
Bronze Washing Basin
(image not available at present)
The ceiling of the
Dwelling consisted of various decorative and non-decorative
fabrics that were draped over the structure. Over the building
and these decorative fabrics was erected a tent of animal skins
that provided protection from the elements and was referred to as
the Tent of Meeting. The Tent of Meeting and the
Dwelling were in turn situated in the center of large
fenced-in area called the court that acted as a secure perimeter
and compound around the Dwelling in which the general population
was prohibited from entering.
The Tabernacle, much like our
contemporary houses of worship would indeed be the center of
worship for the people of Israel at this time. However unlike its
modern counterparts, the Tabernacle was not a place where the
general population gathered under one roof to engage in
formalized services, sing songs, listen to Scriptures and a
sermon. The Tabernacle and surrounding compound were places where
only a select group of individuals were permitted to enter and in
some cases perform very specific rituals. These individuals as
well as related support personnel were to come from the
descendants of Levi, the Levites.
It was at this juncture that the
descendants of Levi were separated from the general population
and given the obligation and privilege to serve in varying
capacities within the Tabernacle and later Temple systems. In
place of the descendants of Levi within the collective family of
Israel, the sons of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) would be given
individual hereditary portions along with the other family units.
From this point forward, the Levites would not included in
the collective people associated with the term Israel ,
but were considered as a separate entity.
The twelve families of Israel
(shortly after the Exodus)
Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad,
Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin
Levi (separated as a distinct group from
Israel)
Due to the unique positions held by the Levites in relation to the Tabernacle and Israel, much of the early Biblical texts deal specifically with the their lineages and functions. From these texts, we find that the term Levite may refer to one of four distinct groups of people descended from the family of Levi and not one.
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Levi |
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1. Gershon |
Kohath |
4. Merari |
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| Libni | Shimei | Amram |
3. Izhar |
3. Hebron |
3. Uzziel |
Mahli | Mushi | ||
| 2. Aaron | |||||||||
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| the priests | |||||||||
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(Genesis 46:8, 46:11; Exodus 6:17-19) |
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The aspects which separated these four lineages from each other were primarily determined by their function in relation to the Tabernacle system and secondarily, by the level of access to the sacred articles shown above (Numbers 1:49-50).
The two primary divisions of the Levites were broken into:
Priests
1. Descendants of Kohath through Aaron and his
sons
ritual functions, packing of the
sacred articles for transport by the non-priest Kohath
Levites
Non-Priests
Unlike the priests, who not only
engaged in specific rituals within the Tabernacle system but were
physically permitted to approach the sacred articles; the
functions of the non-priest lineages of Kohath, Gershon and
Merari was restricted and limited to being the support personnel
for the Tabernacle. This included the on-going maintenance,
disassembly, transport, and erecting of the structure and
compound area.
For the entire family of the
Levites, their separation from the general population meant that
they and their future generations were locked into very specific
occupations and would have a great deal of their freewill to make
independent decisions regarding their vocation curtailed or
eliminated entirely. The descendants of Aaron would always be
priests, the sons of the non-priest Kohath Levites would always
carry the sacred articles, the sons of Gershon would always tend
to the fabrics and the sons of Merari would always tend to the
structure. In consideration for their service, Yahveh gave the
Levites the most important gift of all - time.
Once they had completed their
duties, they did not have to turn around and grow food or
otherwise make a living like everyone else. Their physical needs
were to be provided for them by the contributions of the people.
They even had a nice retirement plan that would ensure that their
needs were met after the age of fifty years of age when they were
freed from the normal obligations previously required of them in
the various functions of the Tabernacle (Numbers 8:25-26).
It is no wonder that the Levites as
a whole became the educated and literate individuals within the
society, not only responsible for reading and communicating the
written word, but imparting the understanding of it to the people
(Nehemiah 8:1-8). It is most likely because of the free time they
were permitted when not serving in their respective functions as
support personnel for the priests and the Tabernacle that from
the ranks of the non-priest Levites would come the singers and
musicians of later years.
The work on the Tabernacle
continued and in less than a year; the structure, its
furnishings, and the compound were completed. With the Levites in
their respective positions, the Tabernacle is assembled for the
first time. After being inspected by Moses, the structure was
then disassembled for transport and the Israelites given the
directive to brake camp. For the next forty years, the Israelites
and the Levites will wander around the desert with the Tabernacle
until they are finally permitted to enter the land that would
become their permanent home, the land of Canaan.
The people now under the direction
of Joshua, who took over the seat of Moses after his death,
finally cross the Jordan river into the land Canaan. The lands
were then divided among the families and the Tabernacle erected
in Shiloh (Joshua 18:1, 1 Samuel 1:3). Behind the scenes for the
next five centuries and not documented in any of the Hebrew
texts, the musical system of the Levites was apparently evolving
and solidifying within the ranks of the non-priest Levites. A
system that would be eventually be utilized by the most
influential and prolific songwriter in the Biblical texts, David
- the second king of Israel.
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The Song of the Levite |
The Story |
